Domestic quarrels notwithstanding, Turkey’s regional and global weight is on the rise. We should, however, neither misjudge its basis nor be misguided by excessive self-confidence.
Meeting with US President George W. Bush, hosting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and bringing Israeli President Shimon Peres and the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas together before the Turkish Parliament marks a new activism in Turkish foreign policy. All these high-level diplomatic contacts clearly indicate an ever-growing “engagement” of Turkey with the world, as diplomacy does not take place in a void.
However, a couple of points need to be clarified. Bullying policies in the region do not necessarily elevate Turkey to the status of a regional power. On the contrary, such an attitude would isolate Turkey in the region and prompt searches among regional and global forces for alignments to counter-balance Turkey. So the military might is the last thing to rely on to exert influence over developments in the region. Moreover, active military engagement in regional politics is also highly likely to aggravate the already problematic issue of civilian control over the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Turkish policymakers should always remember that an aggressive foreign policy disrupts not only regional balances but also civilian-military relations at home. We should always keep in mind that the militarist culture with authoritarian political tendencies is fed by foreign policy issues by justifying a world-view based on enmity and mistrust.
Turkish policymakers seem aware of these traps. Behind the increasing activism in Turkish foreign policy, we see more of the “soft power” components of Turkey. No doubt a growing and stable Turkish economy is an asset for Turkish foreign policy as well. An economy with a YTL 400 billion volume is both a source of attraction and deterrence. Turkish goods and companies are all over the Middle East, including northern Iraq. An ever-increasing amount of Gulf capital is flowing into the Turkish economy.
Strengthened by robust economic performance, Turkish civil society gets involved in international affairs, adding to activism at the governmental level. We know very well how civil society organizations have lobbied for Turkey’s accession process to the EU, but what was not noticed were their activities in other parts of the world, including the Middle East. Having Peres and Abbas together in Ankara addressing the Turkish Parliament was largely made possible by the efforts of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), which established the Ankara Forum for Economic Cooperation with its counterparts in Israel and Palestine and is working to set up industrial parks in the West Bank and Gaza.
The analysts with a sole “power politics” perspective would disagree, but Turkish democracy is also an asset for Turkish foreign policy. Undemocratic regimes make weak governments with constant problems of legitimacy. Turkish democracy is a source of strength for Turkey. It is also an attribute of Turkey that is envied in the region. Transparency, the rule of law and an accountable government have their attractions. Turkey manages to reach the people on the street in the region with its credentials as a democratic country. An effective public diplomacy is being conducted, the result of which is Turkey’s ever-high popularity in the region, especially in the Arab Middle East.
To be in a position of negotiating accession to the EU adds to the strength of Turkey’s global and regional standing. We must not forget this in order to resist the temptation, as championed by some anti-Western circles in Turkey, for opting out to be a “regional power” on its own, cooperating with Russia, China and Iran when necessary. Anchoring to the EU is the key to Turkey’s political as well as economic stability, without which Turkey will lose an important component of its soft power. Turkey’s EU accession brings Europe ever closer to the Middle East and carries the Middle East into Europe, and both ways lay the groundwork for economic prosperity and political stability for its immediate neighborhood.
Culture, history and identity matter in foreign policy. Turkey, at last, seems to be successfully bringing such a post-realist, and I would also say post-Kemalist, dimension into its foreign policy-making. Listening to Peres’s appreciative remarks about the way in which the Jews have historically been treated by the Turks is one point to ponder.
15.11.2007
Meeting with US President George W. Bush, hosting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and bringing Israeli President Shimon Peres and the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas together before the Turkish Parliament marks a new activism in Turkish foreign policy. All these high-level diplomatic contacts clearly indicate an ever-growing “engagement” of Turkey with the world, as diplomacy does not take place in a void.
However, a couple of points need to be clarified. Bullying policies in the region do not necessarily elevate Turkey to the status of a regional power. On the contrary, such an attitude would isolate Turkey in the region and prompt searches among regional and global forces for alignments to counter-balance Turkey. So the military might is the last thing to rely on to exert influence over developments in the region. Moreover, active military engagement in regional politics is also highly likely to aggravate the already problematic issue of civilian control over the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Turkish policymakers should always remember that an aggressive foreign policy disrupts not only regional balances but also civilian-military relations at home. We should always keep in mind that the militarist culture with authoritarian political tendencies is fed by foreign policy issues by justifying a world-view based on enmity and mistrust.
Turkish policymakers seem aware of these traps. Behind the increasing activism in Turkish foreign policy, we see more of the “soft power” components of Turkey. No doubt a growing and stable Turkish economy is an asset for Turkish foreign policy as well. An economy with a YTL 400 billion volume is both a source of attraction and deterrence. Turkish goods and companies are all over the Middle East, including northern Iraq. An ever-increasing amount of Gulf capital is flowing into the Turkish economy.
Strengthened by robust economic performance, Turkish civil society gets involved in international affairs, adding to activism at the governmental level. We know very well how civil society organizations have lobbied for Turkey’s accession process to the EU, but what was not noticed were their activities in other parts of the world, including the Middle East. Having Peres and Abbas together in Ankara addressing the Turkish Parliament was largely made possible by the efforts of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), which established the Ankara Forum for Economic Cooperation with its counterparts in Israel and Palestine and is working to set up industrial parks in the West Bank and Gaza.
The analysts with a sole “power politics” perspective would disagree, but Turkish democracy is also an asset for Turkish foreign policy. Undemocratic regimes make weak governments with constant problems of legitimacy. Turkish democracy is a source of strength for Turkey. It is also an attribute of Turkey that is envied in the region. Transparency, the rule of law and an accountable government have their attractions. Turkey manages to reach the people on the street in the region with its credentials as a democratic country. An effective public diplomacy is being conducted, the result of which is Turkey’s ever-high popularity in the region, especially in the Arab Middle East.
To be in a position of negotiating accession to the EU adds to the strength of Turkey’s global and regional standing. We must not forget this in order to resist the temptation, as championed by some anti-Western circles in Turkey, for opting out to be a “regional power” on its own, cooperating with Russia, China and Iran when necessary. Anchoring to the EU is the key to Turkey’s political as well as economic stability, without which Turkey will lose an important component of its soft power. Turkey’s EU accession brings Europe ever closer to the Middle East and carries the Middle East into Europe, and both ways lay the groundwork for economic prosperity and political stability for its immediate neighborhood.
Culture, history and identity matter in foreign policy. Turkey, at last, seems to be successfully bringing such a post-realist, and I would also say post-Kemalist, dimension into its foreign policy-making. Listening to Peres’s appreciative remarks about the way in which the Jews have historically been treated by the Turks is one point to ponder.
15.11.2007
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